Texas A&M
21-9, 3-7
LSU
20-11, 6-4
Aggies Drop Series Opener vs. LSU, 4-1
Apr 05, 2018 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 19 Texas A&M Aggies dropped the series opener to the No. 20 LSU Tigers, 4-1, Thursday evening on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
The Maroon & White were doomed by a four-run fourth inning for the Tigers along with an inability to get the leadoff man aboard, going 0-for-9.
Michael Helman led the Texas A&M offense with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, including a double and he added a walk. Will Frizzell accounted for the Aggies' only run with a solo home run in the ninth.
Aggie starter Stephen Kolek (3-4) labored through 3.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out one. Reliever Kaylor Chafin was dominant as he kept A&M within striking distance. The senior lefty weaved 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out five of the 14 batters he faced.
The Aggies dropped to 21-9 overall and 3-7 in the SEC. LSU improved to 20-11 overall and 6-4 in league play.
SCORING SUMMARY
T4 | Zach Watson drew a five-pitch walk to start the inning and LSU got two runners in scoring position when Aggie rightfielder Will Frizzell misread Austin Bain's fly ball resulting in a double. Antoine Duplantis knocked in both runners with a single to centerfield. Duplantis moved to second on a groundout to first by Daniel Cabrera and with two outs he scored when Hunter Feduccia threaded a double down the leftfield line. Feduccia came home when Bryce Jordan dropped a single in front of the centerfielder. LSU 4, A&M 0.
B9 | With one out, Frizzell hit a solo home run over the leftfield wall. LSU 4, A&M 1.
NEXT UP
The Aggies and Tigers return to action Friday with a 6:02 p.m. contest on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
Opening statement…
"With a series in the Southeastern Conference, usually the team that cracks first is the one that ends up losing and we certainly did there in the fourth inning. [Stephen] Kolek was marvelous for three innings and walked the leadoff hitter, got some balls elevated and they strung some hits together. We weren't able to get off the field and keep it at 2-0 with two outs and from that point on, the bullpen was marvelous. I mean you take away the fourth inning, we twirl an 8-inning, 3-hit shutout. That's why you play nine innings and Zack Hess was that much better than we were tonight."
Junior INF Michael Helman
On LSU pitcher Zack Hess…
"He was attacking the zone and we were finding a lot of barrels early in the game and started hitting some lazy fly balls later in the game. I think we just deviated from our team approach. It kind of came back to bite us."
On frustration losing the first game of the series…
"We've got a lot of competitors on this team. Everybody wants to win, but we all hate losing and I'm tired of it. Everybody on this team's tired of it. Kaylor [Chafin] was obviously tired of it. He came out and pitched a heck of a game."
On plan for tomorrow…
"We're going to come out here, just attack from the get go and play Texas A&M baseball."
Senior LHP Kaylor Chafin
On his performance tonight…
"It felt good to finally be competitive for my team. I've felt like I've been holding us back in the bullpen. It was good to get that going and now we're a couple things away from being a great team like we're supposed to be. I was doing what I could for the team, getting quick outs as much as possible and just trying to keep us close."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hess, Zack (5-3)
L: Kolek, Stephen (3-4)
Batting:
2B: Bain, Austin 1 ; Duplantis, Antoine 1 ; Feduccia, Hunter 1
RBI: Duplantis, Antoine 2 ; Feduccia, Hunter 1 ; Jordan, Bryce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Watson, Zach 1 ; Bain, Austin 1 ; Duplantis, Antoine 1 ; Feduccia, Hunter 1
SB: Feduccia, Hunter 1
Batting:
2B: Helman, Michael 1
HR: Frizzell, Will 1
RBI: Frizzell, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Frizzell, Will 1
SB: Foster, Logan 1
